The Hickory Crawdads struck for five runs in the first inning, and used that to hold of the Aberdeen IronBirds on the road, 6-5 Thursday night.

Leadoff hitter, Max Acosta reached base on a throwing error by Aberdeen’s shortstop and would end up on second. Cameron Cauley then hit a single to score Acosta as Hickory jumped to the 1-0 lead. Cauley would then steal second. Wyatt Langford pounced on a pitch on the outside of the plate for a triple and Cauley scored to make it 2-0. One out later, Cody Freeman singled to score Langford. Another out later, and Daniel Mateo would hit the second triple of the inning, scoring Freeman. Mateo scored when Cooper Johnson hit a ground rule double, and Hickory led 5-0 before the IronBirds could get to the plate.

Aberdeen would score a run in the bottom of the third inning and two more in the fourth before Hickory scored a pivotal insurance run in the sixth. Freeman singled to open the inning. Geisel Cepeda followed up with a single that advanced Freeman to third. Mateo would ground out but Freeman scored for Hickory to have a 6-3 lead.

Hickory pitching allowed the IronBirds only two hits in the contest. Jose Corniell got the start for the Crawdads and went seven innings, allowing the two hits and three runs, two of them earned, while striking out four and walking only one for the win. Seth Clark earned his first save of the season for the Crawdads, with two innings of relief, not allowing a hit and walking only one while striking out two.